Mitch Daniels should have been more open-minded about Howard Zinn's magnum opus

4:52 PM,
Jul. 25, 2013

Written by

David Masciotra

It is tempting to dismiss former Gov. Mitch Daniels' ignorant derision of the late Howard Zinn's magnum opus, "A People's History of The United States," as yet another example of the maddening tendency of politicians to involve themselves in affairs about which they know very little.

Given that Daniels is now the president of Purdue University, and that he's off to an excellent start, it should make scholars and students squirm that he once called a widely acclaimed and awarded historical text "anti-American" and "crap." Not satisfied with simply swallowing his foot, he also, as governor, ...